The percentage of hospital beds in use across the state shows how the virus is currently impacting hospitals.

This week, COVID-19 hospitalizations reached higher levels across the state than when Abbott imposed a statewide mask mandate in July 2020. Abbott has maintained that he will not be reviving the mask mandate and has barred local authorities from issuing their own.

“Governor Abbott has been clear that we must rely on personal responsibility, not government mandates,” Abbott press secretary Renae Eze said in a statement on Monday. “Every Texan has a right to choose for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses, or get vaccinated.”

Medical professionals are afraid that hospitals will become so overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients that they won’t have space for new patients — a situation that many hospitals faced during previous COVID surges.

“We need to make sure that there’s beds and hospitals and staff in hospitals available to take care of people who don’t just have COVID-19, but … all of those other conditions,” said Dr. Jennifer Shuford, chief state epidemiologist for the Texas Department of State Health Services. “As we see hospitalizations increasing at this rapid rate, we are afraid that we’re going to stress hospitals to the point that they can’t take care of some of those other people who are coming into the hospital for a stroke or a heart attack or any number of other things.”

Already, Shuford said she’s heard of hospitals that can’t accept patient transfers from other hospitals because they have no beds open.

Dr. David Callender, president, and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, a 17-hospital system spanning southeast Texas, said the “onslaught” of people hospitalized with COVID-19 during the recent surge could overwhelm its capacity if the current trend continues.

The system now has more than 800 people hospitalized with COVID-19, with nearly a third of its ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, he said. At times, he said hospitals have had no pediatric ICU beds available and had to transport young patients across the state or even out of the state.

“Everybody who’s unvaccinated needs to get a vaccine,” he said. “That’s what will keep us out of those terrible situations where people need care in a hospital and they can’t get it.”

As of Saturday, 44.4% of Texans have been fully vaccinated. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, Texas ranks 37th nationally for the percentage of the eligible population vaccinated.

Walkes said vaccination is still the best hope for blunting the current COVID-19 surge.

“We don’t want you to be that person that has to choose a ventilator instead of a vaccine,” she said.

See the capacity of local hospital ICUs the week ending August 5

During the week ending on August 5, 53 Texas hospitals reported that their ICU beds were filled to capacity. Every week, the federal government releases the ICU capacity data reported by about 200 Texas hospitals with more than four ICU patients or four staffed ICU beds.

N/A: HHS redacted numbers from this hospital because it reported fewer than four staffed ICU beds, fewer than four patients occupying ICU beds, or both.

Carla Astudillo contributed to this report. This story originally published by the Texas Tribune.